Maryland Takes Care of Wisconsin

Maryland defeated the Wisconsin Badgers yesterday by a score of 68-63. The win pushed the Terps to 5-7 in the conference and 16-9 overall. Turgeon’s team was behind for most of the first half, but went on a 17-2 run to finish the frame up 10. Wisconsin quickly narrowed the margin and the game was close from there, with 9 lead changes over the final 11 minutes. Maryland pulled away however, as Kevin Huerter broke a 60-all tie with two crucial buckets in the final minute and a half, and Dion Wiley made the game-sealing block.

Highlights:

-The game was largely decided at the line, where Maryland went 18/19 on free throws compared the the Badgers’ 8/11 clip.

-Anthony Cowan and Kevin Huerter had an unusually poor day from deep, shooting a putrid 2/10 on 3s. This was likely a fluke for two of the best three-point shooters in the Big Ten

-The Terps’ depth was tested again, as only 8 of their players played, all of whom got double-digit minutes.

-Maryland was able to use its height advantage throughout the game, shooting 58% from inside the arc

The win was necessary only insofar as it staved off the bursting of the Terps’ bubble. Wisconsin is a bad team and a loss would have essentially ended Maryland’s season. Turgeon and his team will need to pick up all the wins they can in these 6 remaining games, as well as keep an eye on the rest of the bubble teams. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Maryland in his bubble at the lowest possible position: 8th team out. They will look to avoid a bad loss this Wednesday when Maryland takes on Penn State on the road. Tip is set for 6:30 on Big Ten Network.

Jeremy Train is a Junior Psych major with a business minor at the University of Maryland at College Park. He has been writing for Maryland Sports Blog since January 2017 and has since been made editor as well. Jeremy used to work as an usher for the Orioles along the first base line in the lower seating bowl.